Detection of C-reactive protein on a functional poly(thiophene) self-assembled monolayer using surface plasmon resonance

The preparation of a new poly(thiophene) with pendant N-hydroxysuccinimide ester groups and its application to immobilization of biomolecules are reported. A thiophene derivative of N-hydroxysuccinimide ester was polymerized with FeCl(3) in chloroform and the resulting poly(thiophene) was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). This polymer reacts with amine-bearing molecules to yield new poly(thiophene) derivatives and the specific interactions at the side groups could be detected. Thus, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) using the polymer was formed on a gold-coated quartz cell and anti-C-reactive protein (anti-CRP) was immobilized. The binding behavior of CRP on the surface was monitored by use of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor system.     

Electrostatic force microscopy study on the domain switching properties of the Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films with different crystallographic orientations for the probe-based data storage

The domain switching properties of the ferroelectric Pb(Zr(0.2)Ti(0.8))O(3) (PZT) thin films with two types of crystallographic orientations were investigated by electrostatic force microscopy (EFM). The crystallographic orientations of the PZT thin films were random on the (111)Pt/MgO(100) and c-axis preferred on the (100)Pt/MgO(100), respectively. When dc bias was applied to the films for writing in micro-scale area, electrostatic force images showed that the domain switching was hard in the PZT thin films with random orientation, while the pattern could clearly be written in the PZT films with c-axis orientation. The differences in the domain switching properties of each PZT thin film were investigated in the crystallographic orientations point of view, and the domain switching dynamics were also measured by investigating the nano-sized dot switching behavior with respect to the width of the applied voltage pulse.     

Binding behavior of CRP and anti-CRP antibody analyzed with SPR and AFM measurement

Atomic force microscope (AFM) was exploited to take picture of the molecular topology of C-reactive protein (CRP) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution. An explicit molecular image of CRP demonstrated a pentagonal structure composed of five subunits. Dimensions of the doughnut-shaped CRP molecule measured by AFM were about 25nm in outside diameter and 10nm in central pore diameter, and the height of CRP molecule was about 4nm which was comparable to the value determined by X-ray crystallography. Bis(N-succinimido)-11,11'-dithiobis (undecyl succinate) (DSNHS) was synthesized for use as a linker for immobilizing anti-CRP antibody (anti-CRP) onto the gold surface of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor chip. DSNHS formed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the gold surface. By use of an AFM tip, a pattern of ditch was engraved within the SAM of DSNHS, and anti-CRP was immobilized on the engraved SAM through replacement of N-hydroxysuccinimide group on the outside surface of DSNHS by the amine group of anti-CRP. Formation of CRP/anti-CRP complex on the gold surface of SPR sensor chip was clearly demonstrated by measuring SPR angle shift. A consecutive series of SAM, SAM/anti-CRP, and SAM/anti-CRP/CRP complexes was generated on a SPR sensor chip, and the changes in depth of the ditch were monitored by taking AFM images of the complexes. Comparative analysis of the depth differences indicates that binding of CRP to anti-CRP occurs in a planar mode.     

Electrochemical characteristics of 316l stainless steel processed with a thermally treated Ni- and Cr-rich surface coating

The influence of a thermally treated Ni-Cr rich protective coating on the corrosion behavior and contact resistance of stainless steel in a 0.1NH₂SO₄+ 2 ppmHF electrolyte at 80 °C was evaluated using electrochemicals, interfacial contact resistance (ICR) measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Through a low-cost, continuous production line, the Ni-rich coating film for stainless steels was developed by dipping steel samples in acrylic resin and CrO₃ solutions with different levels of NiSO₄·6H₂O added as a nickel source. Each sample was then heated at 800 for 10 min in a hydrogen-reducing environment. It was shown that an increase in residual Ni content in the surface coating noticeably lowered the interfacial contact resistance and raised the corrosion resistance, depending on the remaining nickel content and the thickness of the surface coatings. In support of the XPS depth profile, this was ascribed to the relative enrichment of the Ni element and the detectable reduction of oxygen content in the coating, which could be associated with the significant evaporation of acrylic resin that occurred during thermal treatment. The optimum Ni composition in the resultant coating film, achieved through the addition of 15 wt.% NiSO₄·6H₂O to the acrylic resin and CrO₃ solution, was estimated to be about 10 wt.%.     

Effects of cell size on compression and bending strength of aluminum-foamed material by complex stirring in induction heating

This paper investigated the effects of various process parameters on the mechanical properties of aluminum-foamed material. For the sake of this, complex stirring, which combined electromagnetic stirring with mechanical stirring, was used to fabricate aluminum foam materials by varying fabrication conditions. Pore size and its volume fraction increased as temperature of molten metal increased. When stirring, pore generation increased and distribution state improved as the stirring velocity increased. Pore size and porosity fraction increased as the foaming velocity increased. It resulted in pore size and shape to be poor material properties. Pore size and porosity fraction increased as the foaming temperature increased. However, the inner flow by the expansion in the molten metal due to temperature gradient and gravitational liquid metal drainage into inter-pores would occur, which caused pores deformed. The compressive strength was inversely proportional to the cell sizes. The yield strength below 2 mm of cell size changed gradually, but the yield strength over 2 mm of cell size drastically decreased because the shape of cell changed from spheroidal to polyhedral structure.     

Fabrication of MWNTs/nylon conductive composite nanofibers by electrospinning

MWNT/nylon 6, 6 composite nanofibers were fabricated using an electrospinning method, and the electrical properties were examined as a function of the filler concentration. Initially, the pristine, purified MWNTs were treated with a 3:1 mixture of concentrated H₂SO₄/HNO₃ to introduce carboxyl groups onto the MWNT surface. The carboxylated MWNTs were then treated with thionyl chloride and an ethylenediamine solution for amide functionalization. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to examine the functionalization of the MWNTs. Nylon 6, 6 is readily soluble in formic acid. Therefore, the amide functionalized MWNTs were dispersed in formic acid. The solution remained stable and uniform for more than 40 h. –NH₂ termination of the MWNTs improved the dispersion stability of the MWNTs in formic acid. The MWNTs-suspended in a solution of nylon 6, 6 in formic acid was electrospun to obtain the nanofibers. The electrical properties of the nanofibers were examined as a function of the filler concentration. The results showed that the I–V properties of the nanofiber sheet improved with increasing filler concentration.     

Rheological properties of high molecular weight (HMW) syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/HMW atactic PVA blend solutions

To identify the effect of blend ratios of syndiotacticity‐rich poly(vinyl alcohol) (s‐PVA)/atactic PVA (a‐PVA) having similar number‐average degrees of polymerization (P_n)s of 4000 and degrees of saponification (DS)s of 99.9% on the rheological properties of s‐PVA/a‐PVA/water solutions, water‐soluble s‐PVA and a‐PVA with different syndiotactic diad contents of 58.5 and 54.0%, respectively, were prepared by bulk copolymerization of vinyl pivalate and vinyl acetate (VAc) and solution polymerization of VAc, followed by saponifying the corresponding copoly(vinyl pivalate/vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl acetate). The blend ratios played a significant role in rheological behavior. Over the frequency range of 10^?1–10² rad/s, s‐PVA/a‐PVA blend solutions with larger s‐PVA content show more shear thinning at similar (P_n)s and (DS)s of polymer, suggesting that PVA molecules are more readily oriented as s‐PVA content increases. Yield stress is higher for s‐PVA/a‐PVA blend solutions with larger s‐PVA content at similar (P_n)s and (DS)s of polymer. This indicates that more domains with internal order are produced at larger s‐PVA content in s‐PVA/a‐PVA blend solutions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3934–3939, 2006     

In-situ measurement of the current transformer burden in a current transformer testing system using a shunt resistor

Both the ratio error and phase angle error of a current transformer (CT) are significantly affected by the CT burden connected in series to the secondary terminal of the CT. Thus, the precise measurement of this CT burden is required for the evaluation of the CT errors. A method for measuring the CT burden in-situ in a CT testing system (CTTS) has been developed by employing the non-reactive type shunt resistor. For the measurement of the CT burden, the shunt resistor was connected in parallel to the secondary terminal of the CT under test in the CTTS. The burden values represented by the apparent power and the power factor can be calculated from the resistance (and reactance), which was obtained by measuring the ratio error (and phase angle error) as a function of the resistance of the shunt resistor. The uncertainties in the measurements of the apparent power and the power factor for the rated burdens studied were found to be less than 2.1%. The CT burden values obtained using our method were consistent with those measured using a digital multimeter within the corresponding uncertainties.     

Fast scanning of a pulsed terahertz signal using an oscillating optical delay line

We describe a fast measurement of a pulsed terahertz signal generated by a femtosecond laser and a photoconductive antenna using an oscillating optical delay line. The method to measure the amplitude of the retroreflector in the oscillating optical delay line is proposed and the displacement of the retroreflector is exactly calculated to acquire the optical delay time in the fast scan mode. With the different oscillation frequency and amplitude of the retroreflector, the pulsed terahertz signals are measured and analyzed. The comparison of the temporal waveform and frequency spectrum between the fast scan mode and the slow scan mode shows a good agreement with the decrease in the scanning time from 60 to 1 s at a signal to noise ratio of 430.     

Effect of nozzle temperature on the emission rate of ultrafine particles during 3D printing

Ultrafine particles and other hazardous materials are emitted during 3D printing, but the effect of temperature on such particles has not been studied systematically. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature on the emission rate of particulate matter during fused deposition modeling (FDM) three-dimensional (3D) printing using different filament types. The number concentration of particles was measured with direct-reading instruments in an exposure chamber at various temperatures while using four filament materials during 3D printing. The temperature was increased from 185 to 290°C in 15°C increments, while incorporating the manufacturer-recommended operating conditions. The emission rate increased gradually as the temperature increased for all filament types, and temperature was the key factor affecting the emission rate after filament type. For all filaments, at the lowest operating temperature, the emission rate was 10⁷-10⁹ particles/min, whereas the emission rate at the highest temperature was about 10¹¹ particles/min, that is, 100-10 000 times higher than the emission rate at the lowest temperature. To reduce particle emissions from 3D printing, we recommend printing at the lowest temperature possible or using low-emission materials.